VS01 - Mission Information

The VS01 Mission will be the first Soyuz Flight to launch from the Guiana Space Center, French Guiana. Arianespace will launch two Galileo Navigation Satellites on a Mission to demonstrate the capablilites of a new generation satellite system. On this premier flight, the Syouz flies with a Fregat upper stage to place the passengers into their desired 23,222-Km Orbit. A new payload disoenser was built to send the satellites into opposite direction at the point of spacecraft separation. Arianespace plans to launch another Soyuz from Kourou this year.

Image: Arianespace

Payload Information

The VS01 Mission will be launching the first two Satellites of a new global navigation satellite system. These first satellites are designated In-Orbit Validation Satellites among the next two Galileo Spacecraft to be launched in 2012. The IOV Satellites are close to the final design of the Fully Operational Spacecraft. These satellites will be used to verify that all mission criteria could be met with the actual spacecraft that will be launched later. Flying IOV Satellites allows engineers to evaluate the performance of the satellites and make modification to improve the design before the rest of the spacecraft are built. The complete Galileo Satellite System will be comprised of 30 in-orbit spacecraft including three spares. Three groups of spacecraft would be formed to cover three 120° orbital planes – 9 satellites for each plane plus one spare. Galileo will provide Open Access Navigation for the mass market featuring simple timing and positioning with an accuracy of 1m. Commercial Navigation will be encrypted and provide high accuracy positioning to the centimeter. Fees will be charged for Commercial Navigation Products.

Image: ESA/EADS/Thales

Another open service will be Safety Of Life Navigation for applications where accuracy is required. Public Regulated Navigation will be open to Government Agencies and be contiuously available even in times of crisis. A Search And Rescue Feature will be used to pick up Beacon Signals and Locations, send feedback and confirm that help is on the way. This system will be used in contingencies only. The two IOV Satellites launching on VS01 each weigh 700kg including fuel that is needed for orbital fine-tuning maneuvers. In Orbit the spacecraft will have dimensions of 2.74m by 1.59m by 14.5m. The European Space Agency is the prime operator of the Project. Astrium and Thales Alenia Space Italy are the two major contractors that are in charge of developing and building the satellites. The spacecraft have a designed life of 12 years. 1420 Watts of electrical power is provided by two deployable Solar Arrays. The Soyuz and its Fregat Upper Stage will put the satellites into a circular medium earth orbit with an altitude of 23,222-Km from which they will operate. RUAG Space Sweden designed a payload adapter that is capable of deploying the satellites into opposite directions at the same point. The passengers are installed side by side on this type of payload adapter.

Mission Preview and Timeline

Time

Event

-00:00:17

Ignition

-00:00:15

Preliminary
Thrust

-00:00:03

Full Thrust

00:00:00

Liftoff

+00:01:58

Booster
Separation

+00:03:38

Payload Fairing
Jettison

+00:04:48

Core Stage
Separation

+00:09:24

3rd Stage
Separation

+00:10:24

Fregat 1st
Ignition

+00:23:31

Fregat Shutdown

+00:23:31

Ballistic Phase
(Coast Period)

+03:40:05

Fregat 2nd
Ignition

+03:44:27

Fregat Shutdown

+03:49:27

Spacecraft
Separation

Fregat 3rd Burn

Fregat 4th Burn

After blasting of from the Guiana Space Center, the Soyuz will be powered by its core stage and the four strap-on boosters. After just under two minutes into the flight, the boosters will have done their job and separate from the vehicle. Those boosters will fall back to Earth. The next major milestone is the separation of the payload fairing that protects the Upper Stage and the satellites during powered ascent when thermal loads would exceed vehicle red line limits. The core stage will burn for 70 seconds, after that the core stage burns out and separates from the vehicle to fall back to Earth. The third stage takes over and fires its engine for about 5 minutes before separation from the upper composite. One minute after separation, the Fregat upper stage ignites for the first time placing the spacecraft into an intermediate transfer orbit. Once in this parking orbit, a barbecue maneuver will be initiated that rolls the vehicle for thermal conditioning and sun exposure. 3 hours and 44 minutes after launch, the Fregat ignites again at a precise point in its coasting orbit to place the payloads in their desired orbits. The burn will have a duration of 4 minutes and 22 seconds. After shutdown, that stage will be stabilized and re-orient itself to the proper attitude for spacecraft separation. At the exact separation target, spacecraft separation will be initiated. Both spacecraft will separate at the same time as they are released in opposite directions in order to put them into their functional orbit at an altitude of 23,222Km. The satellites will deploy their solar arrays and establish communications. The Fregat Upper Stage continues its mission for two more burns. After a short period of drifitng away from the deployed payloads, Fregat ignites its engine again to position itself in a Fly-Away orbit increasing the opening rate between Fregat and Galileo. Another coast phase follows before the fourth burn places it in a graveyard orbit where it will stay. Final assessments and positional analysis are performed before passivation of the upper stage to end the Soyuz Mission.

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